Since his return from loan at the end of last season, defender William Saliba has been a revelation for Arsenal.
Despite being signed by the Gunners all the way back in 2019, the French centre-back had failed to make a single domestic appearance for the Londoners until this season.
Eager to prove that the £27m they spent on him three years ago was not a waste, Saliba’s impressive start to the new 2022-23 campaign sees him rank among the Premier League’s best centre-backs.
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Not only has the former Saint-Etienne defender proved invaluable at the back, but he has also contributed up the other end of the pitch. Having scored two domestic goals already this season, the 21-year-old is turning out to be an incredibly versatile member of Mikel Arteta’s squad.
Getting himself on the scoresheet again on Sunday against Brentford, Arteta, who spoke after the game, revealed that the Frenchman has not even trained for the past 10 days.
“He has been superb. He hasn’t trained for 10 days,” the Spanish boss said.
“He had some discomfort […] He only had one training session and he comes in and continues the way he has done it.”
“This is what we wanted” ?
Mikel Arteta reacts to his Arsenal side going back to the top of the Premier League table ?pic.twitter.com/vkTlQLrO93
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 18, 2022